Posted: 2/19/2008 9:08:47 AM EDT
|
For you guys living along the coast: What factors influence whether or not you stay for a hurricane? What would make you bug out, and how would you prepare your house? I moved to the Texas coast about a year ago to go to school, and I'm trying to put together a plan. The hardest part for me is deciding at what point it is time to go. I don't want to be caught with my pants down. For what it's worth, I have a BOB packed and ready to go. I have all my important documents scanned, and saved three places. I also have paper copies in a file folder that is ready to go next to my laptop and hard drive. Thanks in advance. |
As long as the storm surge isnt gonna get me, I stay. I've seen first hand that those that stay and mitigate damage as it occurs fare much better than those who dont. But you need to have a shelter that is safe from the random tornado if youre gonna stay and be prepped to go it on your own a while. I've always ridden them out, but NO WAY that I'd stay if rising water could get me. |
|
Run from water, hide from wind. If you're at/near sea level, then I'd GTFO. If you are on a decent rise, then stay off the damn roads and have a reinforced safe room to hunker down. During the summer of the hurricanes a couple years back, we had people stuck on roads all over Florida who tried to outrun the canes and wound up in some cases driving right into it, while their homes were untouched. |
|
I am a Chief Officer in a FD in the Houston, TX area. I am staying no matter what. But we are prepared !!!!!! If you live outside or the surge of flood zone, in a house that is fairly substantial I would consider staying if you live in a densely populated area such as Houston. Bugging out / evacuation is a BITCH in these areas unless you leave WAY ahead of the heard. Do a Google search on Rita evacuations for a good education. If you stay you must be prepared to be on your own for at least one week (minimum) without any outside utilities or other support. Don't believe FEMA's 72 hour rule. In our department preps include: Two fire stations built to the International Building code to withstand 126 mph sustained winds (we are on the NW side of Houston, not coastal). The other two are good for 90 mph and we will be replacing one of these and upgrading the other. You will find very few trees around our stations for a very good reason. Complete glass protection pre-cut and labeled with ply-locks commercial grade fasteners. The ply-lock folks in Friendswood are great people. They loaded the Department up with everything we needed at their cost. 4000 gallons of diesel, in a storm proof tank (CONVAULT), Trailered tanks to store 180 gallons of gasoline. Full backup generators at all stations. Three are natural gas, one is diesel and draws directly from the 4000 gallon tank. 256 CASES of Military MRE's in secure temp controlled storage. Will be ordering come Mountain House soon. 300 gallons of water in 5 gallon containers. Lots of spare equipment, chain saw chains, bar oil, tire plug kits, EMS equipment, Rental aggreements for a HD front end loader for each station (road clearing),..... too much to list all here. Tipple redundant communications UHF, VHF, 800, RACES, ARES, backups to backups. Working on satellite based broadband Internet connection. Operational security is taken care of..... HCSO will be bunking with us... along with other plans.... |
|
We always stay. If you leave, looters will be sure to hit your shit. 2004 we had 4 hurricanes that hit us. I made it a very good point that I was armed and would not hesitate to protect my home with necessary force. Two weeks without power, shady people from the "hoods" eventually made their way to our area.....They passed on by my house..... "You Loot, I promise to shoot" is spraypainted on my shutters. |